The Dictator

Dictators around the world hate the State of Israel. Here’s why.

I don’t want to get into politics, but Sacha Baron Cohen’s new movie, The Dictator, makes some very valid points.

The Dictator is about the leader of Wadiya – a North African country – named General Aladeen (played by Sacha Baron Cohen). Aladeen is the kind of leader who travels with a fleet of solid gold Humvees, has people beheaded for minor annoyances, and “wins” all of his country’s Olympic games, Oscar ceremonies, and whatever judging system they use to figure out who is the top surgeon.

As the movie opens, Aladeen journeys to New York to convince the United Nations that the nuclear weapons he’s building are for peaceful purposes only. (What does that mean? Urban development?) But while he’s in town, his uncle has him kidnapped and replaced by a body double (played by Sacha Baron Cohen), intending to make the country a democracy and open it up to foreign oil markets.

The kidnapper is supposed to torture and kill Aladeen, but only gets to cut off the latter’s beard before Aladeen escapes to the streets of New York. Aladeen then has to get back and claim his rightful place on the throne, which is difficult, because nobody recognizes him without the beard. (It is a known fact that if you have a beard, no one will recognize you. That why no one has noticed that Jason Segel and Zach Galifianakis are actually the same person.) And along the way, he falls in love (of course), and sees the benefits of making his country a democracy (sort of).

Actually, the above summary was a little biased toward democracy, so I need to take this opportunity to apologize to all of Aish.com’s readers who also happen to be dictators. For them I will quote the movie’s ad copy: The Dictator is “the heroic story of a dictator who risks his life to ensure that democracy will never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed.”

A dictator can fool himself into thinking that everyone agrees with his every word.

That description is actually pretty accurate. For most of the movie, Aladeen assumes that his people love being oppressed, and that they’re dying for him to get back so he can resume oppressing them, because no one ever told him otherwise. A dictator can actually fool himself into thinking that everyone agrees with his every word, because hey, no one ever says “no.” And like a child who is never told “no”, the dictator never grows up – every decision is self-serving, and he has to be “the best” at everything. In fact, Aladeen changes the dictionary in his country so that “yes” and “no” are represented by the same word – Aladeen – so he never has to hear the word “no.” And if someone does disagree with him, he signals to his guards and they drag the person off.

It’s important to hear a “no” once in a while. Not all your decisions are good ones. No one ever told Gaddafi, “No, you can’t wear that outside. You look ridiculous.” Maybe if someone would have, he’d have been better off for it. Or alive.

Democracy means the freedom to question our political leaders. We do almost nothing but, and hopefully it inspires them to make better decisions. Dictators think everyone agrees with them, because there’s no freedom to criticize.

“I think everyone who disagrees with me should be put to death. Does anyone disagree?”

It’s not until Aladeen actually sees, through American newscasts, that his people are actually happy about becoming a democracy, that he realizes that he might be wrong. He also visits the “Little Wadiya” section of Manhattan and sees that all the people he supposedly executed are actually still alive, eating in “Death-to-Aladeen” themed restaurants and trying to make it in the taxicab industry. And what ultimately makes him decide to make his country a democracy (sort of) is his love for a girl (not played by Sacha Baron Cohen) who was the first person in his life who was not afraid to challenge him, to be honest with him, and the first person he couldn’t immediately have dragged off for doing so.

As Sacha Baron Cohen said in an NPR interview, “Aladeen sees himself as a demigod. His religion is himself.”

What’s interesting is that you don’t have to be a dictator to get people to do what you want. God himself isn’t even a dictator.

Is Judaism a dictatorship? On the one hand, it seems restrictive. There’s one Authority, there are rules, and you can’t vote in your own candidates to replace Him based on miracles they’ve performed or popular TV series they’ve created.

But Judaism is actually a democracy. God doesn’t obsess over His own needs first, because He has no needs. He doesn’t reign through fear, He reigns through love – all His expectations from us are just to help us build a relationship with Him – kind of like the expectation to remember your wife’s birthday. And G-d doesn’t stifle our freedom of choice – it’s one of the main tenets of Judaism. Sure, there are things you can’t do, but not everything is legal in a democracy either.

God wrote a constitution, and those are the rules. You live by those rules, and you’re good. You’re set for life. He doesn’t make them up on the fly. He doesn’t say, “Okay, new rule. If I’m coming down the stairs, and you’re coming up, and we get in each other’s way, and we do that dance where we both move from side to side but manage to accomplish nothing, I’m going to give a little signal, and my angels will ship you off to Manhattan.”

And in fact, if we do transgress, he doesn’t immediately give the signal. He gives us the chance to make up for it. Like in the movie, where Aladeen gets a second chance at life, and ends up making better choices.

And God is not unquestioned either. In fact, our religion encourages constant questioning. Passover, for example, has four questions for every one answer, and the typical Jew cannot answer a question without asking one of his own. And whereas most dictators fear that any questions they allow will only lead to harder questions, G-d is secure enough that He can stand back and allow people, if they so choose, to question His very existence.

And if Judaism is a democracy, it’s fitting that Israel is one as well. David Ben Gurion observed that for every two Jews, there are three opinions. No one holds more opinions than we do. Jews have lived under dictatorships before, and it never ended well for the dictators.

In a way, a dictator is like a parent who says, “If I don’t threaten the kids with punishment, why would they listen?” But they don’t realize that kids also sometimes do the right thing out of love.

For years, Israel has been trying to act as a beacon of light – standing in a region full of dictatorships and showing them what it means to have a country where everyone is welcome to live and welcome to voice their opinion. True, that may not have always worked out like we had hoped.

But here’s what does work: Practically everyone in Israel loves Israel. For all the different voices that Israel allows, its residents love the country. Most Israeli soldiers happily put their lives on the line to defend it. This is as opposed to the suicide bombers, who figure that the possibility of reward after death is better than the life they have at home. Isn’t a bird in the hand better than two in the bush? Maybe they don’t have any in the hand.

For obvious reasons, the dictators hate Israel. They hate us for embracing values they themselves are too weak to face. If you honestly think your people like you, you can prove it by having free elections, by giving the people a voice. But obviously, dictators are afraid of what they’re going to hear.

And it kills them that Israel can pull it off.

Their entire war is built on insecurities. And that’s why they’ll never win.

Visitor Comments: 9

(7)
yehudith shraga,
July 2, 2012 9:18 PM

The way of sasha baron cohen to fight the dictatorship is wrong.

As Gemmara says: a jew may go to the circus but may not perform in the circus, so is here, a Cohen which humilates himself by the exposing his genetalia to all the world and many other episodes of his lack of modesty may not fight any form of dictatorship but may mock the essence of jewish people and humilate the state of Israel in general and the status of Cohen in particular.
Do not correct others by making laughter of them, correct them by showing a right example of what is really good by correcting yourself.
Sasha baron cohen's way is wrong because by his behaviour he makes much more evil than even he himself understands-he gives an unbeatable card to the dictators- see! what a level may a jew fall and if you don't want to become as them- the slave of your instincts- fight their way with all your might, so Sasha baron cohen helps the dictators to prove that their way is right and that the freedom given to an "animal" makes him/her even more animal, and that any order is better than disorder and dishonoursty
You may fight evil by establishing the priority of Human above the animal nature and not by freely let you insticts and unconsious drives to be shown from the sreen, it is a false freedom, the real freedom is the result of a deep inner work and correction through studing Torah and preforming Mitzvot, when one gets the inderpendence from all his blocks and unconsious drives and sublimated wishes and know to react to his wish in the way of Ohr Hosser- perfroming something which may better the world and not doing something which in the long run may only make a damige to this world, his country and his people.
One should differ between the ability to say the world the truth with dignity and sparkling humor, that when he is attacted his words will never be interpreted as the words of an actor who may not be taken seriously, because he has no respect for himself, so why to take anything said by him close to heart!?

(6)
Keoagile,
May 31, 2012 7:58 AM

The Genesis of Dictatorship

Will someone please help me understand what perpetuates a dictatorship? Why do citizens of a country like Wadiya (interesting name) tolerate and perpetuate their own suffering? Just asking!

Richard,
June 4, 2012 2:46 PM

Here's your answer:

The one thing that perpetuates a dictrtorship is fear. People are afraid for their lives. They don't want to die for their beliefs, so do not trust themselves to speak openly to others. If they did, they would eventually build a force and overthrow the dictator. In the meantime, he rules by fear. His force is fear of pain, imprisonment, death. When you think of it, it's a very potent force. If you look at Nazi Germany, you will see that fear engulfed the entire country and permitted atrocities by the government in power.

(5)
Miriam,
May 30, 2012 7:43 PM

This movie was made to prove how wonderful the Arab Spring is

I would imagine this movie was put out by liberals to show that the Arab Spring is a great thing. Mubarak, for example, thought his people need a dictator and I would have to agree with him. Noone can doubt that the Arab nations were much better off with their sometimes heartless, tyranical dictators than they (and Israel) are now.
Also, Judaism is a democracy???? Where'd you hear that one?!?!?!? Is that the ancient Judean Kings ran? A democracy????????

Danny,
May 31, 2012 7:36 PM

Wasn't it the people of Israel who demanded a king for themselves?

(4)
Alan,
May 30, 2012 7:33 PM

International screening

I can't see this winning the Iranian film festival

(3)
Anonymous,
May 30, 2012 6:53 PM

their entire EXISTENCE is built upon inseecurities

they are not allowed to query the koran, the prophet, immams or their political leaders either. doom is in the wings so make sure abdullah that you : " dont look behind the curtain".

(2)
Lloyd A. Oestreicher,
May 30, 2012 4:41 PM

DICTATOR

ISRAEL PULLS IT OFF, TH USA, FINLAND,ENGLAND, NORWAY, AND FRANCE PULL IT OFF, THAT'S WHY THE DICTATORS HATE US. BECAUSE WE ARE A BEACON OF HOPE.

I'm told that it's a mitzvah to become intoxicated on Purim. This puzzles me, because to my understanding, it is not considered a good thing to become intoxicated, period.

One of the characteristics of the at-risk youth is their use of drugs, including alcohol. In my experience, getting drunk doesn't reveal secrets. It makes people act stupid and irresponsible, doing things they would never do if they were sober. Also, I know a lot about the horrible health effects of abusing alcohol, because I work at a research center that focuses on addiction and substance abuse.

Also, I am an alcoholic, which means that if I drink, very bad things happen. I have not had a drink in 22 years, and I have no intention of starting now. Surely there must be instances where a person is excused from the obligation to drink. I don't see how Judaism could ever promote the idea of getting drunk. It just doesn't seem right.

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Putting aside for a moment all the spiritual and philosophical reasons for getting drunk on Purim, this remains an issue of common sense. Of course, teenagers should be warned of the dangers of acute alcohol ingestion. Of course, nobody should drink and drive. Of course, nobody should become so drunk to the point of negligence in performing mitzvot. And of course, a recovering alcoholic should not partake of alcohol on Purim.

Indeed, the Code of Jewish Law explicitly says that if one suspects the drinking may affect him negatively, then he should NOT drink.

Getting drunk on Purim is actually one of the most difficult mitzvot to do correctly. A person should only drink if it will lead to positive spiritual results - e.g. under the loosening affect of the alcohol, greater awareness will surface of the love for God and Torah found deep in the heart. (Perhaps if we were on a higher spiritual level, we wouldn't need to get drunk!)

Yet the Talmud still speaks of an obligation on Purim of "not knowing the difference between Blessed is Mordechai and Cursed is Haman." How then should a person who doesn't drink get the point of “not knowing”? Simple - just go to sleep! (Rama - OC 695:2)

All this applies to individuals. But the question remains - does drinking on Purim adversely affect the collective social health of the Jewish community?

The aversion to alcoholism is engrained into Jewish consciousness from a number of Biblical and Talmudic sources. There are the rebuking words of prophets - Isaiah 28:1, Hosea 3:1 with Rashi, and Amos 6:6, and the Zohar says that "The wicked stray after wine" (Midrash Ne'alam Parshat Vayera).

It is well known that the rate of alcoholism among Jews has historically been very low. Numerous medical, psychological and sociological studies have confirmed this. The connection between Judaism and sobriety is so evident, that the following conversation is reported by Lawrence Kelemen in "Permission to Receive":

When Dr. Mark Keller, editor of the Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, commented that "practically all Jews do drink, and yet all the world knows that Jews hardly ever become alcoholics," his colleague, Dr. Howard Haggard, director of Yale's Laboratory of Applied Physiology, jokingly proposed converting alcoholics to the Jewish religion in order to immerse them in a culture with healthy attitudes toward drinking!

Perhaps we could suggest that it is precisely because of the use of alcohol in traditional ceremonies (Kiddush, Bris, Purim, etc.), that Jews experience such low rates of alcoholism. This ceremonial usage may actually act like an inoculation - i.e. injecting a safe amount that keeps the disease away.

Of course, as we said earlier, all this needs to be monitored with good common sense. Yet in my personal experience - having been in the company of Torah scholars who were totally drunk on Purim - they acted with extreme gentleness and joy. Amid the Jewish songs and beautiful words of Torah, every year the event is, for me, very special.

Adar 12 marks the dedication of Herod's renovations on the second Holy Temple in Jerusalem in 11 BCE. Herod was king of Judea in the first century BCE who constructed grand projects like the fortresses at Masada and Herodium, the city of Caesarea, and fortifications around the old city of Jerusalem. The most ambitious of Herod's projects was the re-building of the Temple, which was in disrepair after standing over 300 years. Herod's renovations included a huge man-made platform that remains today the largest man-made platform in the world. It took 10,000 men 10 years just to build the retaining walls around the Temple Mount; the Western Wall that we know today is part of that retaining wall. The Temple itself was a phenomenal site, covered in gold and marble. As the Talmud says, "He who has not seen Herod's building, has never in his life seen a truly grand building."

Some people gauge the value of themselves by what they own. But in reality, the entire concept of ownership of possessions is based on an illusion. When you obtain a material object, it does not become part of you. Ownership is merely your right to use specific objects whenever you wish.

How unfortunate is the person who has an ambition to cleave to something impossible to cleave to! Such a person will not obtain what he desires and will experience suffering.

Fortunate is the person whose ambition it is to acquire personal growth that is independent of external factors. Such a person will lead a happy and rewarding life.

With exercising patience you could have saved yourself 400 zuzim (Berachos 20a).

This Talmudic proverb arose from a case where someone was fined 400 zuzim because he acted in undue haste and insulted some one.

I was once pulling into a parking lot. Since I was a bit late for an important appointment, I was terribly annoyed that the lead car in the procession was creeping at a snail's pace. The driver immediately in front of me was showing his impatience by sounding his horn. In my aggravation, I wanted to join him, but I saw no real purpose in adding to the cacophony.

When the lead driver finally pulled into a parking space, I saw a wheelchair symbol on his rear license plate. He was handicapped and was obviously in need of the nearest parking space. I felt bad that I had harbored such hostile feelings about him, but was gratified that I had not sounded my horn, because then I would really have felt guilty for my lack of consideration.

This incident has helped me to delay my reactions to other frustrating situations until I have more time to evaluate all the circumstances. My motives do not stem from lofty principles, but from my desire to avoid having to feel guilt and remorse for having been foolish or inconsiderate.

Today I shall...

try to withhold impulsive reaction, bearing in mind that a hasty act performed without full knowledge of all the circumstances may cause me much distress.

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